A state of flux!

All the Zooms are done for a few days, and ALL the follow-up is done!! That's a first for me. Cleaning up the presentations, writing out the email, double-checking distribution lists, and so much more! 

But it's done! I wish I could say the same for my state of mind! I'm in a bit of a flux this morning. No news on Dad - well, the news is he hasn't had surgery yet, and I'm not sure if they will deem it safe to do that surgery on him at his age. 

Hopefully we will get some answers today. 

In the meantime, I'm supposed to head out to a quilt retreat today because I have things to drop off, and it will be nice to have a relaxing day, but I'm also contemplating heading out to Saskatchewan tomorrow. The ticket price has me second-guessing, and I want to make sure it will be worth my time and money. 

So hopefully, with a few phone calls, I can decide. Since I'll be away next week and the week after that, I don't think DH wants to be with the dogs by himself for that long, so I may make it a short week and just stay home. Like I said - I'm in a bit of a state of flux! 

After our two scrap sessions, I hope the students are madly asking themselves questions and wondering how to proceed. They have a lot to consider, and if they go with it, there is a lot of work to do. I hope they are up to the challenge, and I'll follow up with them later this month to make sure they're on the right track. 

I chuckled because at the end of the session, one participant said, "Those are wise words, and we need a reminder once a year."  Oh no -- you are not getting off this easy, my response? This is a lifestyle change, and you will be living and breathing the answers to these decisions for the rest of your quilting career. You won't need a reminder! 

One thing to say about making all those presentations: I am constantly thinking about the flow and the logical order of the process. It doesn't always work, but I think I've got a good handle on it by now! Making a presentation is just like being a storyteller, but with pictures instead of words! 

If you ever need to communicate something to someone, practice out loud at home. I don't stand in front of the mirror to do it. I do often "present" when walking the dogs, so they are quite knowledgeable about quilting! But it's amazing how your communication skills can improve by thinking through what you are going to say, practicing saying it OUT LOUD (especially introductions), and then going for it! Do you know that most people "hate" their voice? Especially on tape. But the more you listen to yourself delivering a speech, the more comfortable you get. I don't think it's our voice we hate, but the thought that you are in charge of this conversation!

Here is the status of my two winter quilts. The borders were supposed to be on both for UFO Club yesterday, but my Friday threw me for a loop. I'm close!!

The inner border on this quilt

I hope things will quiet down—seriously? Why do I even say that? I know it's never going to happen. Even with my personal stuff - things just go haywire! This blue outer border is one of the prints I picked up last week. 

Adding the outer border

I had help while I was on Zoom. Murphy is not happy that she doesn't have the freedom to come and go as she used to, but that is a life change. She's getting used to it. The girls and the boy are NOT happy that the backdoor isn't open as much as it used to be. The temperature is getting a wee bit chilly, and so they don't have the same freedom! 

MOM - I'm here for you!

As I look at that picture, I see my Singer iron on the little ironing station, my two blocks for 40 shades of grey on the wall, and a mess of projects I am currently working on. 

I've been thinking about buying one of those rolling carts you can get at Michaels, but I don't know if it is big enough. Perhaps if I got two, I could remove a table? Hmmmm --- thoughts on that? 

I just checked online, and they have quite a variety. Maybe I should try it. Two people I chatted with yesterday have some sort of cart, and they like it. Hmmm -- might work for my class projects. And maybe one for samples. I will need a four-tier cart!

This was the mess that I have been facing since the Facebook Live. I managed to get some stuff put away yesterday and certainly did NO sewing. 

The mess in Studio B

I also inherited (OK - I bought) some supplies from someone who was getting out of quilting and embroidery. Here is the thread haul I got. 

My thread haul!

You can never have too much thread. There were a LOT of other things in the bundle she dropped off at my door (how lucky can you get), and I'm happy to report that it's all put away. Yep—there are maybe three things I don't want, and I'll take them to the retreat; if no one wants them there, I'll post on the blog. It's all about making decisions, having homes, and then getting rid of what you no longer want. 

I will say that my thread bins are full! There is NO need to buy more thread until some of the bins are a bit emptier. Lots of machine embroidery on the horizon. 

Bear was hanging out in the bed in the front window! The silly guy—he loves to sleep there so he can keep an eye on everything happening in the neighborhood. Sadly, he goes home today!!! 

GRANDMA -- I'm on my break from guard duty!

And here's my "official" puzzle picture for September. I might be OK with spacing and order in verbalizing things, but in the written world? I start too big and have no room! 

The puzzle is officially entered in the monthly contest.

I doubt I'll get another puzzle done this month, but it depends on what happens this week. I think I'm averaging about two a month, which works for me. 

I've had this window open for a couple of weeks to alert everyone to the new Canadian postage stamps honoring antique quilts. Check it out. These quilts are from the Royal Ontario Museum collection, and they were on display a while back. Well, it's almost two years since that exhibit was on, and can you believe I did NOT post a single picture. 

However, the collection is online, and you can check it out here. I believe the duck quilt is on the third page. 

OH - so I sent my follow-up emails yesterday, with BIG attachments. I'm sure my Google Drive is having a heart attack this morning. Email is really the biggest culprit for the space, and I was messing around in it yesterday. They really need to make this stuff more user-friendly, but then people would actually delete stuff instead of just buying more storage. OH—those hi-tech companies are very clever and know we are willing to cough up more money instead of time!

I refuse to do that, so I am going to keep investigating and plugging away at getting rid of stuff. But I still haven't hit that magic button yet. I am having to go ONLINE to delete stuff, and of course, they start you with the most recent. I want the old stuff! Sigh.................

I know that some of you want to dive in and help. I know how to do it - I know how to search, and I'm pretty darn competent. It's just finding out how their systems work and how my Windows systems work and how to make the two of them talk to each other and how to decipher the BEHIND THE SCENES small delete button. I'll get there - it really just requires a concentrated effort on my part. 

I should just take my laptop to the retreat and spend the entire time deleting crap! I could - it would be easy! 

On that note, I'm off. Who knows where I'll end up tomorrow, but hopefully we'll have some answers and know how to proceed. 

It is going to be an AMAZING day!!!! Why? Because I say so!! And as Captain Jean-Luc Picard would say - MAKE IT SO!!!!

Ciao!!!

Don't tell me that computerized machines do not provide quality craftmanship!

It was a rainy day in Winnipeg. I didn't go for a walk because I had to pack, and since I didn't sleep well, I decided to take a nap before the day actually started. How crazy is that? 

And now I'm writing late at night because I have an early-morning flight and likely won't have time to write in the morning. EDIT: I wrote the blog last night and am editing this morning. 

This was the condition of the room when I left near noon to go to Carellen's Sewing Center. I had one suitcase mostly packed and most of the stuff off the beds. So that was good. EDIT: Just had a shower and everything is now packed, except for the computer. Then I'm off. 

The packing process

I wonder if, after any major quilt show, the X-ray people at the airport question these "things" in suitcases. There are many spools of thread in one of the suitcases. While these are loose spools of thread, there are two boxes of thread in another suitcase! 

A pile of threads in one of my three suitcases

We had a great time yesterday and saw a lot of inspiration for quilting with your embroidery machine. There is so much to share, and I get so inspired myself that I can't wait to get home and get to work. There is so much to do!!!! I have a load of samples I want to make, and I need to make a list of the things I need/want to make, as well as the things I need/want to learn. 

And it was great to see Brenda. Brenda is part of my machine embroidery club, and it's nice to see the people in person! 

OH my -- I should tell you what happened at breakfast yesterday. I was sitting at a table, minding my own business, when I noticed four women nearby talking about Quilt Canada. One woman seemed to be dominating the conversation. I tried not to listen, but how could I help myself? 

She was lamenting that so many of the quilts in the show were NOT hand-made, and that her quilt, which she had spent over 5 hours hand-embroidering a small section, was NOT accepted into the show. Then she told the others that these machines have no craftsmanship in their end result, and all the makers do is push a button and walk away. 

I think she was in particular talking about the jacket that won first prize, I think. It was beautiful and machine-embroidered on silk. It would have taken weeks/months to do all the satin stitching by hand. I have a picture somewhere. 

OK -- so I couldn't help myself. I had finished my breakfast, and I walked over to chat with them. I identified myself as someone who works with computerized machines, and I politely gave them a wee lesson: people with computerized machines still need to worry about the impact of what they have done, which involves choosing the design, fabrics, and threads. We also need to be skilled at using the computerized machine. It needs to be set, we need to know how it works and how to solve the problems, and a whole lot more. WE do NOT just push a button and walk away. 

I don't think she was too impressed. I was very polite. She then started to talk about how she teaches children to sew. So I piped up that if she was doing that, why didn't she sponsor children in her groups to participate in the Youth Challenge at the show? OH -- she didn't know what to say to that. But then she agreed that it might be a good idea. 

I then suggested that she write an article or contact CQA to see if they would be interested in publishing one on what she is doing in her community. It's not about embarrassing these kinds of people or making fun of them. Just ask them why they aren't making a bigger impact!!!! That's partly because they live in small bubbles and are not exposed to other things! 

I didn't stay too long to chat, but enough to make them think. However, I think she was the kind of person who would continue to complain about the computerized machines simply because her handwork quilt didn't get in. 

People do NOT get it that submitting your quilt to any show, even with exquisite handwork, doesn't guarantee that it will get in. What other quilts is it competing with? Just because you do exquisite handwork doesn't mean the overall impact is desirable, and there are so many other factors.  And each person's definition of exquisite handwork may not meet the judges' standards. 

And people, the rejection letter they send is NOT directed to you. It's a canned letter - it has no reflection on your work. She was quite offended by the letter. And let's face it - if your pictures are crap, that is all the judges see, and your quilt won't get in. 

So many factors—you can be disappointed, but you can't criticize. 

But to complain so publicly about it and to put down the computerized machines -- well, that was too much to let slip past! BUT I was as polite as could be, praised her for what she was doing in her community, and encouraged her to do more! I am not a mean person. Just like to set the record straight and stand up for us techies. 

Later in the day, I ran into someone who complained about the show's layout. People—the show coordinators are at the mercy of the space they have been given. Some shows are big, some shows are small. I don't know if the number of quits was the same as in past shows, but it's amazing how people remember shows differently. Oh, when the show was in "city X," there were so many more quilts. It was better laid out, it was bigger/smaller or whatever. I wish I were better at remembering statistics (which I don't even know myself),  so I could prove a point to people. 

And it is a show—there will be lots of people; the booths are small; it is all about MONEY!!!! If you have accessibility issues, then DO NOT go during the busy times. I do not know how many times I need to repeat that -- go when the crowds are lesser (later in the day). Don't go when it's crowded and then complain! I'm not sure I could handle being a coordinator of the show -- the complaints would drive me mad. 

But the one issue with the facility was the stairs between floors 2 and 3. There was a slow elevator and one escalator that went up or down beside that set of stairs. I believe they had to swap the convention hall at the last minute due to an issue, and I'm not sure if the stair issue was the same on the other side of the hall. I don't know the details of that, but I do know that we were NOT in the hall that we were supposed to be in. 

For someone with mobility issues, taking the stairs either up or down could be quite the issue, or they had to wait for the slow elevator. Thankfully, I am very mobile, so I took the stairs up and down all the time. My knee wasn't always happy, but I told it to be quiet - I was in a hurry! 

The previous day in class, we were talking about donut shapes, and well, on the way to Tim's, guess what? I spotted this donut place and decided to stop in on my way back. 

OH Doughnuts!!!

I ordered from Tim's kiosk because the line was long. Then I was fiddling with my phone when I realized the line was gone, and I still didn't have food. One of the staff asked me what I was waiting for, and I said I had ordered at the kiosk. OH -- turns out my food had been waiting at the other end of the restaurant. Sigh............  I might get all this stuff sorted out at some point. They shout out the in-house orders to the customers, but not the orders in the pickup line. The kiosk qualifies as a pickup line. 

Ordering at the kiosk

So, on the way back to the hotel, I stopped by the donut place. OH MY!!!!! And yes, I had my cup of tea and several Tim's bags in my hands. Good grief. 

But look at those donuts!!!! OH MY -- they looked amazing. 

OH Doughnuts is right!

I bought the key lime donut, and let's say they weren't cheap, and I'm sure there were two days' worth of calories in each one. The lady asked me if I wanted a bag to put all my things in, and I said yes, because I had a lot of small bags from Tims.  

The donut was so thick I could barely get it into my mouth, and at one point, I had key lime pie cream on my chin and whipped cream on my nose. Thankfully, no pictures were taken at that time. 

Now that's a donut!!!

But oh my—it was delicious and well worth it. Not as good as if I had ridden my bike to the shop, but at least I walked there. 

I forgot to mention that after breakfast, I told the lady at reception that we had some excitement in the hotel earlier that morning. She apologized and then asked what room I was in. Later in the day, I got a text, and they gave me a slight discount on one night's rate. That was a very nice gesture, and it pays to talk to people!!! 

I'm back at the hotel, and I have everything more or less packed in the suitcases. I will have to carry a tote bag on the plane in addition to my backpack. Thank goodness for airline status, which allows for three 70-pound suitcases. Having access to the lounge? Useless for me. 

Hopefully, there will be no issues, such as flat tires on the plane, and I'll catch you when I get home!!! I can't wait!!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

What constitutes expensive?

 LOL --- I have entered a couple of things into my electronic to-do list, but it's going to take some work to get started to make it truly useful. Baby steps. Meanwhile, I had made a paper list of 12 things I wanted to accomplish in Studio B this week, and I crossed two off yesterday and almost completed 3 more! These are all small things - not actually piecing a quilt, but finishing off bags, or other small items. But all is good!

I get a daily email from the to-do app listing my tasks. I'll have to check it out later as I'm away this morning. Yep -- finally off to the adventure that I thought was last week! 

Yes - more shoveling yesterday, but the driveway is clear, and I heard the plow and the sidewalk plow in the night, so all should be good. Even though the sidewalk plow had done most of the sidewalks right after the storm, there was so much snow, and the banks were higher than the plow could reach, so the sidewalks were not in great shape, and we ended up walking on the road. Hopefully, today will be better. 

But seriously, I am shocked by what people in this neighborhood do. This house is right on the corner, near a high school, and this sidewalk is very frequently used. What? You can see the sidewalk behind that huge mound of snow. They literally shoveled the snow from their driveway onto the sidewalk, and not just a little pile - that is about four feet high! Seriously? 

There is a sidewalk under that snowbank!

Are they so car-centric that they don't even realize there is a sidewalk there? Do they not care? I'd love for the city to hire me, and I'll walk around and slap everyone with a fine that does something stupid like this. It's annoying and just shows how entitled people are! These are drivers who probably don't even watch out for pedestrians. 

I see the girls are making their trails in the backyard, but the snow is so deep that they haven't made many! But Lexi had fun romping around and hopping through the snow. The Husky side of her is finally showing in the snow. Look at her face - she is positively beaming in the snow!

MOM - I LOVE the snow - sometimes! 

Although Murphy is truly the one who is spending the most time in the snow. She is in and out of the house many times in a day. Not because she needs to go, but just to plop in the snowbank on the deck!

MOM- I LOVE the snow - it cools me down!

We had a pretty sunny day yesterday, and there are actually bare patches in the driveway!

Here is one of two tote bags that needed finishing. I mean, why do we let this stuff just sit around and never get done? The second one is almost finished. They are a bit narrow for the depth, but they would be great as a shoe bag! I made the bottom a bit too square, but it's OK. 

Completed tote bag

And I finally got the second sleeve of my sweatshirt done! Again - how long did that take? Not long to finish. Most of the tasks on that list for this week are finishing up small projects, so I hope to get through them and add more! Remember - I CAN, and I WILL -- WATCH ME!!!!

The sleeve for my sweatshirt

And there's one more spool of thread that bites the dust!! I have zero qualms about using up thread -- that's why we buy it! 

One more spool of thread gone!

Speaking of buying things, here's something to contemplate. Remember, I mentioned buying the expensive bras the other day and how much they cost per year? Someone on our Monday call lamented the high cost of purchasing a new rotary cutting mat to replace her THIRTY-YEAR-old one. 

Let's just contemplate that for a second. This existing mat has lasted 30 years -- and yes, so has mine, although mine should be replaced. It still works, even though it looks terrible. 

Here are some properties of the mat that I'd look for: 

• Minimum size (provided I have room): 24" by 36".
• Folding mat - NO!!!!!!
• Mat larger than 24" by 36"? Unless I'm cutting garments, I do NOT need a larger mat than 24" by 36". When have you cut a piece of fabric larger than that for a quilt? Bigger does not always mean better! 

Now let's do the math. Let's say that the mat (24" by 36") costs $150 CDN. WOW -- that's a lot of money. But is it? If you keep that mat for thirty years, and probably the last one you'll buy at our age, then that mat costs you $5 PER YEAR to own. Is that a lot of money? Heck - that's the price of two coffees! STOP looking at the cost of the item and look at the cost per year, per usage, per whatever --- then the cost is not huge at all. It's all about how you look at it --- glass half full, or glass half empty! 

$150 CDN for a 24" by 36" mat is CHEAP, and I'd be rushing out to buy a new one if I needed it. I have three pretty much brand-new mats in my house, so I will never have to buy another one. I need to just move the new one to where the old one is! You can't just look at the cost—you need to consider the price over the projected use period. If you buy a cheaper mat because it's cheaper and then you have to replace it - that isn't a bargain. Buy QUALITY. Buy something that was made for this purpose - not a cheap substitute!

And here's the other thing that drives me mad. We are among the fortunate people who still have a Fabricland (somewhat similar to Joann's) in our city, which sells home decor, garments, and quilting fabrics. It sells yarn and lots and lots of notions. Many do not like to shop there because they feel the items are overpriced. And yes, they have a funky pricing system that really tries to get you to buy a membership, so you save on all the prices. I believe a one-year membership costs $25. I usually save that $25 on the first trip after renewal. 

Here's the thing -- if you do NOT shop at Fabricland, it will close, like MANY of their other stores in Ontario have over the last couple of years, and they are NOT reopening. If there is no Fabricland, then where the heck am I going to buy a 22" burgundy invisible zipper when I want it? 

I can't go to my local quilt shop—they don't stock that kind of thing. Where will I buy those random notions? Again, the local quilt shop doesn't sell that kind of stuff. It's like everything else - buyer beware. Don't just run in and buy willy-nilly. Check things out -- I have never felt price-gouged buying at Fabricland because I look first. 

I do NOT even consider buying many of these things at that online store. As I've mentioned many times, Jeff does not need my money, which is most likely supporting things that I disagree with - NUFF SAID!!! Personally, I think we need to boycott that online store for 24 hours to show that the power is in the consumer - NOT the owner! And while Wal-Mart tries to have basic notions, it wouldn't have a 22" burgundy invisible zipper. 

Do you not find that there is an annoying habit going around these days? People do NOT LISTEN when you are talking. Twice, if not three times, yesterday, I asked questions on our Monday Zoom call, and every time, the person I was asking responded with an answer that did NOT answer my particular question. The answer was related, but it did not answer my question. And one of them was somewhat snarky about it. I rudely interrupted their snarkiness and said -- MY QUESTION IS THIS!!! Sheesh --- what is wrong with people? 

And I know that everyone wants to be helpful, but people -- on a ZOOM call, do NOT take over a conversation because you think you know better than the person who is being asked the question! I target specific people to get them talking!!!!!! 

The other day, I was chatting about the 150 Canadian Women quilt, and Judy sent me pictures of what she has done with hers. She gave the quilt a modern twist and even made it reversible to accommodate all the blocks. 

A modern version of the 150 Canadian Women quilt

The second side to accommodate all the blocks

And she put this dedication to the most important Canadian woman in her life, her mother, on the quilt! That is a very touching addition! 

A dedication to a mother!

Well, there you have it -- another crazy day at my house. No decluttering got done, but that's OK. OH - I did have a long nap. I had lunch and then realized it was one of those "I need a nap, and I need it NOW" moments, so I went to bed. I typically set the timer, which I did, but I was still exhausted, so I went back to sleep for a double nap. I got up and felt so much better. All that shoveling did me in! I had zero trouble sleeping last night, except for when I heard the backup beeper on the front-end loader! 

Have a fabulous day!!!

Ciao!!

Let your gut instinct be your quilting teacher and don't forget to experiment!

Goals are such a wonderful thing or not! I'm using BMI as a relative indicator, rather than fixating on my weight. Let's just say that I want to convert some fat to muscle or lose it altogether. While I can use my waistband as an indicator, I prefer to use BMI. I like goal-setting and numbers. 

The big reason for this is the creep! You know— you know your weight was X ten years ago, and now it's X PLUS. I don't like the plus, but I also know that I might gain as I get older, but there's reason to! 

My annual creep is about 1.5 pounds over the last 7 years. Not a big deal, but imagine if I let that continue? I do NOT, so I'm taking charge! The bottom line is that we have to find something to guide us if we wish to go down that path! 

And I might add that I've seen some very healthy and fit "overweight" people! 

The good news for yesterday was that I got my sewing mojo back! Yeah! And I finished quilting a quilt, but you need to wait a couple of days before I can share it with you. 

I finally accomplished the three things on my priority list, and I've started a new list. Let's see how far I get today. But that visual "to-do" stares at me every day and dares me to let it go unnoticed. 

Not to worry, I'm working very hard on my goals, and well, I'll be able to share more after this weekend. 

I set up the old computer in the kitchen, where there is loads of clear space, and I deactivated EQ8. I was able to use my distribution lists, and all is good. Except that I need to get those lists on the new computer. Not my priority this weekend. 

The old computer in the kitchen

 Then I got out the EQ8 package to access my license and password, and reactivated it on the new computer. That was easy, since I knew exactly where the box with the information was, and it didn't take long. Yeah!!!! When one is organized, it can sure make life that much easier! I need to do more, but I'm already miles ahead of where I was, and I can't get lax now! I still have to download the Creativate Embroidery Software, but I think that's it. I have very simple needs, and NO files reside on my computer's hard drive. 

My EQ8 box

I managed to get a few more half-square triangles sewn and trimmed. 

More half-square triangles

I will say that making your space inviting to work makes it a whole lot easier to work there. Look at this tray of triangles. 

My tray of triangles

When it was a jumbled mess in a drawer, I never touched it, except to add to the mess. NOW? I keep that tray organized, and if I add to it, then I sort the triangles by color. Then I match up two sets and place them on the sewing machine. Then it's easy to sew and trim. And before I know it, I'll be digging out one of the boxes of triangles that I have stored away. We are not going there!!

Enders and leaders - ready to sew

This morning, I needed to find some yellow batik. Hmm -- I have two boxes and two baskets of batik fabric. I don't store these by color as I don't have space. But imagine that I found four or five choices in the top basket. It's obscene how much fabric is there, but it's also nice to find exactly what I want, when I want. OK - so that one looks green! 

The yellow batiks I found

And here's the basket they were sitting in. 

A basket of batiks

Here's something I promised a couple of days back, but I needed to find it. I often get asked about thread colors and thread weights. So what do I do? I experiment! I made these samples a while back. By the way, I had used these for a presentation, and they did NOT get put back in the correct spot. They were in the dumping ground that I call Studio U. They are NOW in the right place. They were all quilted on the long arm. 

On this sample, I used a regular weight (probably a 50-weight matte polyester thread) on the top that matches the fabric color. See how it all blends in, and you see the texture, but not really the stitching. 

Quilting thread matches the fabric

Now look at this one. I used the same thread weight but in a high-contrast color. It's pretty visible and that's the first thing you see - the stitching, which is probably not the most important thing on a quilt. 

High contrast thread

So let's suppose you have a quilt with light and dark elements. A light background, but black for some of the blocks. What color thread will you use so that it doesn't jar you when you look at it? If you choose a dark thread, it'll show like mad on the lighter bits and disappear into the dark fabric. The same if you choose a light thread, it'll show like mad on the darker bits, and disappear into the lighter fabric. 

What should you do? 

Well, look at this sample. This is quilted with the SAME color as the previous example. But what's the difference? 

Sample quilted with white thread

The difference? The thread weight!! Yes -- this is a 60-weight bobbin thread, and while visible, it's not in your face. Also, picking a medium neutral color - khaki, tan, taupe, beige, all work well and will blend into almost any color you have and allow you to see the quilt, not the quilting!!

I wrote an article about it in Issue 64 (The Texture Issue) of A Needle Pulling Thread. 

By the way, did you know that you can purchase individual patterns that I've written for the magazine? Yep --- check this link out. 

Oh dear—where are my pictures this morning? I sent them to myself a bit late, and they are taking forever to sync. Now what's going on? Well, obviously, the pictures came through - I don't know what happened, but when I went to move them to today's folder, which already had some images I hadn't used over the last couple of days, I proceeded to delete the entire folder. Sigh..............  I had highlighted the incorrect folder and selected DELETE. GONE - POOF - just like that! So, those pictures I hadn't used yet? They are gone! 

Poor Murphy - she is having lots of bad hair days! Look at the top of her head! 

Mom - I've got a fuzzy head! 

But then, she was outside in the wind, and everything was blowing like mad. She doesn't care! She's just like me!!!! She was pretty insistent when the wind blew the BBQ cover off. She wouldn't stop barking until I fixed it! Good girl Murphy!!!

MOM - I like the fresh breeze!

But the big question of the day is what is happening to Miss Lexi? While I doubt she will ever do the stairs, she is becoming much more curious about what's downstairs. Why? She'll stand at the top of the stairs and peer down, where, before, she wouldn't go near them. And she will stand in front of the dog bed in the front window, but have no interest in jumping up. Yesterday, I invited her to jump up, and she did! WAIT!!!!! Get the camera!!! So we had a little cuddle to show her it was OK to be there, and then she even stayed while I went to find my camera!

MOM -- Look, I'm up, and Murphy is down!

After yesterday's weather, our snow is almost gone, except for the piles at the bottom sides of the driveway. It was 15 degrees C at one point, very windy, and, let's say, one didn't need hats, mitts, or even jackets for walking! It's cooler today, but still above zero! What's this all about? It almost felt like spring. 

And here is the final post from this past week for QUILTsocial. Another small project that started with a button. I know I'm repeating what I said in the article, but I LOVE working on these small pieces. They can teach so much - let your hands do the work and let your brain take a rest. Make a background, and then play with anything on the quilt. Move things around - what do you like, what do you not like? How are you going to attach those items? What about color? We all have many doodads around the house that we can use to experiment with. 

The day I allowed myself to start these kinds of projects is the day I let my creativity out of the box and run wild. Yes, you can learn that from making a quilt, but it's much harder. I'm lazy and go for the small projects that let you learn quickly. And if you don't like something, guess what? You haven't wasted much time or fabric. 

So the next time you want to take a class to learn something new, why not let your hands and gut instinct be the teacher? If the project is hideous—oh, did I mention you need to check your ego outside your sewing space ?—then it's hideous. Who cares!!!! That's your opinion, but I bet someone else would love it!

Well, on that note, I'm fired up and have nothing on the agenda today but to work towards my sewing and embroidery goals! The presentations for tomorrow are mostly done - just waiting on any more pictures to add. They have until 6 AM tomorrow morning to send them to me. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

Doing the happy dance!!!!

So some days are better than others! Yesterday was not such a productive sewing day. I could be disappointed in myself, but seriously? What will that do? NOTHING! I rack it up to a sewing day when not much got done, and push for a better day today. 

However, something so monumental happened yesterday that I think I was in shock and couldn't really focus on anything else!

One of my goals for 2026 is to get my embroidery design files in order. That task is overwhelming because those files are everywhere. Where does one start and how? How to set up a good file structure, naming protocols, etc. I don't want to do all this work and have a crap system. 

The first step was to investigate what was on one of the five external hard drives I have. I know --- perhaps that's too many, but that's just how things have evolved. I looked at the first one—a total disaster. OK -- I'm exaggerating - not a total disaster, but not good either. 

But there were not many embroidery files on that hard disk, so I opened the next one. OK -- this is the one that I should be using. The majority of the files are here. I use the term majority loosely! 

And then I had a quick look at what else was on that hard disk. And then I had a wild thought. Could that missing quilt pattern be on this hard disk? 

What I'm looking for is an EQ7 file, and there's a directory of EQ7 files on the hard disk. So with bated breath, I timidly opened the folder and looked at the projects. Now, if I hadn't had a chat with my Monday group about the missing folder the day before, I would have missed it, because I was looking for a different name. But OH MY—there was the digital file! 

I slowly opened it - I mean that, since my desktop is so slow these days, even with a reboot - more on that in a second. And VOILA --- that was the file. BUT was the quilt actually in there and usable? I slowly swiped through the quilt's various iterations. OMG - I could have wept. The quilt's background is there! Do you know how many hours of work that saved me! I'll share the quilt tomorrow as I don't have time this morning. 

I was jumping around the house doing the happy dance because that was a monumental find. And this just goes to show why these files need to be cleaned up! I quickly saved it as a new file and gave it the correct name. So with the information (hard copies of the writing - thanks to my searching and to a fellow Monday sewing group member), I've found everything. It all means I can now easily recreate the pattern - it will take a bit of time to plug in the design, but not huge! I have a lot of typing to do, but that's OK. It's much easier to type and edit than to create from scratch!

I don't know what's happening to this computer, but even with having only a few windows open and rebooting it much more frequently, it is SLOW. And I have a ton of files to be shifting around. And I want to get all the boxes off the floor in the office, so the new computer box is open, and I'll get it hooked up this afternoon. That should speed up the file transfer process. I'm excited for that!!! 

There shouldn't be much, if any data to transfer, as I keep everything on those external hard drives. But it sure would be nice to go to a hard drive and grab the right one for what I need. Why so many? Well, I would love to have all my photos on one, all my embroidery designs and sewing machine-related presentations, etc on another, and then anything else on the third one. One can be used as a backup for all three of the others, and the fifth? Well, I might clean it and have a spare! Actually, the fifth one will be attached to the computer, and it's where the daily crap goes! Well, I'll figure it out! One is too big to travel with, so it will be the daily use one. 

I also want to stop using OneDrive except for active files that I'm working on. That's the only way to use AutoSave. I HATE that, but that's what Microsoft did to force people to use their online storage. 

So while it was not a very productive day in the sewing world, it was a very productive day in the computer world!!

And I also did some baking! Well, not baking per se, but I baked my squash in preparation to make soup. And DO NOT laugh at me, but I discovered that I could peel the squash BEFORE baking it, and I'm sold. I think I'll be making a lot more butternut squash soup. It was a pain to remove the squash from the baked skin. 

My baked squash

So that was super easy. I put the squash in the microwave for three minutes to soften it enough to cut it in half. Next time, I might try peeling it before I do that, but this worked OK. Then I got the vegetable peeler out and quickly peeled it. I had to use my sharp knife for some of the bits. In the oven with water, salt, and pepper. I will cut it into smaller pieces next time. And voila -- baked squash. 

I am so not into cooking or baking that it's a miracle when I figure stuff out! 

The other thing that happened in the kitchen is that I got all the wax out of my pie dish, so now I can make the pie crust machine embroidery for it! I'm super excited!

My empty pie dish

But I had to go shopping in the morning because Miss Murphy had NO dog food left. I even had to give her some of Lexi's food in the morning. Since I was close by, I stopped at Michael's. Do they have a candle-making section? 

Oh yes!!!!

Candle-making section at Michael's

That's huge, and at first, I was a bit overwhelmed, and started pulling products off the shelves - wicks, wick centering sticks, paste for the wicks, etc. THEN I had a clear head and put it all back, but I did purchase ONE glass jar with a wick already pre-stuck in it. I'll use that to experiment with, and we'll go from there. 

What I need now is a double boiler. NO - I'm not going to buy one, but I'll McGiver one with something -a glass jar or a metal bowl, and one of my existing pots. I was going to go to the thrift store to see if I could find something suitable. Then I can safely melt the wax and see how my new candle fares. One experiment, and that will become a thing or not! It'll be fun to try. I do know enough to NOT use the wax melting pot as a kitchen item! It would be great to find a Pyrex glass measuring cup with a pour spout. Maybe the dollar store would have that. But it needs to be at least a two-cup one, and I need to find something metal to put at the bottom of the pot so the glass doesn't touch the bottom. Like a metal trivet! 

But oh my—there are loads of fun things at Michael's. Look at these giant balls of yarn! They are HUGE!!!!!

Massive balls of yarn

And puzzles in a truck-shaped tin! All I bought was a baseball hat blank and a small pack of felt wreaths. All things that I can experiment with on the embroidery machine! Do I seem obsessed with that or what? 

A truck-shaped tin for a jigsaw puzzle

I stopped to get Harvey's for lunch. And YES --- those frings and french fries are full of fat. I'm OK with that. But I bought a bottle of water instead of a pop. The only time I bought a pop was when I ate fast food. BTW - I don't eat fast food often! Well, no more. Now that Brooke (personal trainer) and I are on board to get this BMI down, all sugar needs to be removed from the diet. Make that refined sugar! 

Water, not pop, is my drink of choice now!

Don't tell me about zero-calorie pop, or sugar-free or whatever. The goal is to eliminate pop from my diet. Forever! 

I promised to show you the results of the thin thread when quilting. Here is the front of the quilt, which is light-colored, so you want a lighter-colored thread for it. I aim for medium or light-medium so the thread shows equally on all parts. This was a light-medium grey thread. 

Light-medium grey thread on the quilt top

But what to put on the back, which was dark!!! So I grabbed a light-weight grey thread, and it virtually disappears into the back. This is a 60-weight thread on the back. 

Light grey thread on the back

The bonus is that, even with great tension on the long arm, the bobbin thread sometimes appears on the top when stitching a point. But with this combination? The quilting is perfect!!!!

I have another example that I'll take pictures of today and show you. The difference in thread weight is much more dramatic! 

And I did manage to finish another customer's quilt! And I got the other two trimmed. 

Customer quilt - DONE

It had a dark green backing, and I used a medium green thread on the back. With the thinner threads, the quilting is visible, but not shouting in your face as if I had used white to match the top. I'm sold!!!!

Did you check out the QUILTsocial posts? They are so cute, and there's a lot more cute coming this week. 

Here's day three - more felting on the embroidery machine, and I show how I finished that mini pillow cover! So cute!!!! Oh shoot—the link isn't available yet. Well, go to QUILTsocial, and it should be up by the time you get to reading the post. I'll add the link when I get back from spin class. 

Well, it's time to get ready for spin class. I feel pretty good this morning, and I hope it'll be a productive day! If not productive, it's going to be busy -- I need to get that new computer up and running - I'm tired of this crappy old one. 

I will mention that when the alarm went off, I was tired and even considered not going to the gym. BUT then I told myself to get my butt out of bed because I need the cardio and I need the stretching. If I don't go now, it won't get done today! So I'm off to the gym! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

I've got mail!

And????? Do you think I made it? I did!! The eighth dog quilt is quilted! However, I finished it this morning - too heck if it wakes up the family! I had a lot of interruptions yesterday afternoon, and I was too tired to stand at the machine last night. So it's done, but it's still on the long arm. I'll take it off once the girls have their walk. Oops -- girls and the boy!

A lot happened, and it was all for the better. Instead of my having to chase a couple of people down, they contacted me! And that is now one thing I can cross off the list. I have several things on the "to-do" list for today, and some of them involve finishing cleaning up the backyard before the snow comes. I hear we may have snow this weekend. Ugh! BUT -- we must remember that the city is going to clear our windrows at the end of our driveway, so I don't really care!

It's incredible how many appointments you need to book. I'm not good with booking them, and well, I booked TWO of them yesterday ONLINE! I know it's totally faster than calling, so I decided I needed to get my butt in gear and do that. It was quick and easy! Then DH, SIL, and I had a discussion at dinner about how AI could do that. BUT would AI pick times I wanted? No -- it would only book according to my parameters, and by the time I did that, I could have the appointments booked. 

Additionally, when you provide AI with parameters, you have no idea what the options are for appointments. Thank you, but I'll book my own appointments. Maybe one day, but not today. 

But someone got a haircut yesterday. Murphy was looking pretty scruffy and was in desperate need of a deshedding and a haircut. 

MOM - I don't need a haircut - I'm a shaggy dog

What makes this so amusing is that when I first saw her as a one-year-old, I thought the feathers (the hair along her legs) were gorgeous. Her previous owner was taking her for a grooming before I picked her up, and I asked her to keep that hair. Now? I just tell the groomer to take off as much as he can without making her look bad! She is a magnet for bringing all kinds of debris into the house. We might as well be living outside, as there are that many leaves on the floor. OK -- it's not that bad! What's the point of cleaning them up? More will come in. Then, when there is more than one, it's worth my while to pick them up! Yes - our house is not pristine - dogs and people live here. 

MOM -- the hair keeps my privates warm

She did NOT want to pose for pictures when I got her home. And even though the groomer (Daniel) said she was good, it was exhausting for her. And she did NOT like the fact that he shaved her feet. She wasn't happy about that.

Here's her "before" headshot. 

MOM - I don't need to be groomed

And after. OK -- this does not show Murphy's new haircut off well, as she would NOT put her ears up! What a silly girl. 

MOM - I'm so pretty!

But look at those feet! Beautiful! It's like she has socks!

MOM - I have socks!

This is the best picture I could get of her. 

Mom - enough pictures, I need to get out!

And she even came home with a pretty flower! Don't worry - I gave him a big tip! AND I booked her next appointment. 

Murphy's pretty flower

So my other SIL and niece popped over for a bit, which is what put me behind in getting my quilt done. They are here on a very short visit to attend a wedding. They had found a small package on the front step, and I didn't know until they were leaving, as I then saw it on the half-wall by the front door. Hmmm - I don't remember ordering anything. It has my name on it - I was excited to open it and see what it was. 

OH MY GOD - I almost had a heart attack when I opened it. No, it was not some obscene thing that someone sent me. Can you guess? Something I ordered a month ago. Something I ordered more than once. And then the problem got fixed, so I never gave it further thought. 

The remote! 

Yep, that would be the remote. Are you kidding me? And it came by courier. The first of the three orders we placed was on October 8th. Who knows what will happen about the other two? What's hilarious is that I ordered something yesterday morning. By the afternoon, I had a tracking number. Like seriously? 

I need to take a closer look at this today, but I spotted a circle of fungi on the lawn. Make that two lawns as it crosses the property line. What would make fungi grow in a circle like that? 

A circle of fungi

Back to the dog quilts. There was this large mass in one of the battings, and at first, I was OK with it. But as it was going on, the long arm - wait, it was already on the long arm - I knew I didn't want that in a quilt.

A batting mass

So I chopped it out and added in a patch. I felt much better about that. It was obviously several errant layers of batting that got caught up, and that area was significantly thicker than the rest. 

The batting needed a patch

While I had the long arm working this morning, I needed to get my head around the bindings, and I even pulled out the basket of black fabric. 

WAIT a minute - I remember having a rogue brown binding that I had made for a quilt. I had forgotten I made it and used something else. Where is that brown binding? AHA -- it was on the current project table. Easy to find. That will work for one of the quilts. 

A brown binding is already made

Then I decided it was better to get out my leftover bits of binding to see what I could find in there before I started making new ones. 

The box of batting bits

Hmmm —that's intimidating, so I started sorting by color. I found a large hunk of black binding, along with many other pieces of solid black. That should work for at least three, if not four, of the bindings. 

A long length of black binding

I also found some binding in one of the fabrics I've used in the quilts. 

A dog fabric binding bit

And I managed to get it all sorted. I'm not sure how I'll put it back in that container - should I press some of the bits first? I may just do that, although I don't really have time. I'll see how the day goes. I need to work on my writing assignment, and I have four customer quilts scheduled for this coming week, in addition to binding those eight quilts. 

The box for the binding bits is empty

This is where I store my thread for the long arm, as well as some other threads for sewing and appliqué. The entire cabinet is devoted to thread. I needed some thread to finish quilting the quilt, so I started rummaging in the cabinet. 

One of my three storage areas for thread

This is a rogue basket of thread. The threads (quilting) are sorted by color, but this basket has whatever wouldn't fit into the appropriate color basket. There was some empty space in some of the baskets now, so I've removed some of the spools; however, there is still more to deal with in the future. I need to take a closer look at this basket before I place a thread order.

Extra threads

Funny how quickly one thing leads to another! And down the rabbit hole you go! However, I'm pleased to report that all my threads, fabric, binding bits, and other materials are now sorted. They are at least stored in the same spot, and when I sort through something, I'm seeing all that I have. That's huge! It never used to be like that in Studio B, and it was a nightmare. I'm sure I'll continue to find some rogue things in various places, and there are a few missing things, but all is good!

As you know, I've been nagging about learning. And I need to take some time to learn new things. Well, I even had time yesterday to watch some instructional videos. YES -- I know they are videos and not a book. That's because I've read the book and am now looking for a different perspective from others. As much as I feel I know this subject, I learned a couple of new things, and it reinforced what I already knew. There are many more videos! Learning is a never-ending thing! The next time you have a few minutes to "waste" by watching reels on Facebook, find an instructional video of whatever your subject is and watch it! 

Now I need to learn how to give Bear a dog facial. He has goopy eyes, and I wasn't clearing them well, so now he's a mess again. I'd better get him cleaned up before he goes home. Thankfully, I still have time! Warm compresses - he needs warm compresses!

To end today, this is what happens when you rummage in the cupboard where the treats are. And yes -- there are two leaves on the floor with a few more in the background. Murphy deserved a few treats because she was such a good girl, and of course, the other two needed some as well. They were her emotional support dogs! 

Mom - It's TREAT time!

And that's it for today. Another busy day (when is it not?), but I'd like to spend most of it downstairs or in the backyard. However, I have a couple of emails and appointments to attend to, so I had better get those done as well. Don't you worry about me and time - I read every day, both audiobook and ebooks, and I walk a lot. I'm getting plenty of ME time! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!